Locator map with the Upper Lawrenceville neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
While so many neighborhoods are casting about to reinvent themselves as vibrant post-industrial places, denizens of Upper Lawrenceville want to tie a vibrant future to the industry that remains.
They began developing a new vision for the neighborhood, referred to by some residents as the 10th Ward, in a series of three meetings that Lawrenceville United and the Lawrenceville Corp. initiated last fall. With $15,000 from the Design Center, they hired Christine Mondor of evolve EA, a design firm in Friendship, to lead the sessions, with help from Chelsea Burket, a community strategist with Fourth Economy, a consulting firm on the North Shore.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians‘ hall on Carnegie Street was standing room only for each meeting. The process linked natives of the neighborhood, old and young, to relative newcomers, many of whom have found the last affordable part of Lawrenceville.
After a final meeting last week, they embarked with a new plan and strategies to enliven the neighborhood without sacrificing its authenticity.
Progress Pennsylvania 